Huntington Avenue Grounds

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Huntington Avenue Grounds

Location:	Boston, Massachusetts
Opened:	May 8, 1901
Owner:	Boston Red Sox
Surface:	Grass
Architect:
Current Capacity:	9,000 (1901) 11,500 (1908)
Build Cost:	$35,000
Tenants:	Boston Red Sox (1901 - 1911)

Huntington Avenue American League Base Ball Grounds is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston, Massachusetts. Home to the Boston Red Sox (known simply as 'Boston', or the 'Boston Americans' before 1908) from 1901-1911

1 Stadium History
2 Trivia
3 Field Dimensions
4 Wall Height
5 External Links

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Stadium History

1903 World Series

Fenway Park has been home to the century-old Red Sox franchise for over 90 years, but, few fans know about the predecessor to the current stadium, the ballpark that actually gave birth to the franchise. The Huntington Avenue Grounds were located at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Rogers (present day Forsyth) Street. The location was 1.5 miles from where Fenway Park would eventually be built.

The first home of the Red Sox was built for $35,000 in 1901. Ground was broken for construction on March 9, 1901 and was completed two months later. In between the start and finish of construction, Charles Somers sold his interest in the Cleveland team and became Boston's first official owner. When it was completed, the ballpark dubbed Huntington Avenue Grounds seated 9,000 fans, with room for thousands more standing behind ropes in the outfield and the ample foul territory, where 90 feet separated the stands from the diamond. The initial outfield dimensions were 320 feet down the lines and a daunting 530 feet to center, which was expanded to 635 feet in 1908. The ballyard had only a single entrance with just one turnstile as the team simply known as the Boston Americans won their first home opener on May 8 when Cy Young beat Connie Mack's Athletics 12-4.

The wood-framed Huntington Avenue Grounds proved to be a success for the first-year franchise in the new league, as estimates placed between 289,000 and 322,000 fans through the sole turnstile, twice as many paid admissions garnered by the previously established Boston National League team. While the cross-town "Braves" charged 50 cents for admission, the "Americans" charged only 25 cents for a grandstand seat.

The stadium was the site of the first World Series in 1903, and also saw the first perfect game in the modern era, thrown by Cy Young on May 5, 1904. The playing field was fairly large by modern standards. Sources say that it was 350 feet to left field, 440 feet to left center field, 530 feet to center field in 1901 and 635 feet to center field in 1908, and 280 feet to right field in 1901 and 320 feet to right field in 1908. The field had many quirks not seen in modern baseball stadiums, including patches of sand in the outfield where grass would not grow, and a tool shed in deep center field that was actually in play.

The Huntington Avenue Grounds was demolished after the Red Sox left at the beginning of the 1912 season to play at Fenway Park. Solomon Court at Cabot Center, an indoor athletic venue belonging to Northeastern University, now stands on the site. A plaque and a statue of Cy Young commemorate the history of this ballpark in what is now called World Series Way.

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Trivia

Cost of a Grandstand Seat: $0.25
Built across the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad tracks from the South End Grounds, home of the Boston Braves.
Scene of the first American League - National League World Series in 1903.
Had the deepest center field in the big leagues (635 feet).
Built on a former circus lot, there were large patches of sand in the outfield where grass would not grow.
A tool shed in deep center field was in play.
Cy Young threw the first modern perfect game there on May 5, 1904.
Site is now occupied by Northeastern University.
The World Series Exhibit Room in Cabot Physical Education Center, on the current site, is devoted to mementoes of the 1901-1911 Red Sox era.
A plaque on the side of the Cabot Physical Education Center, commemorating the location of where the left field foul pole used to be, was unveiled in 1956.
In 1993, a statue of Cy Young was placed where the pitchers mound and home plate used to be.